5.  The applicant was born in 1981 and lived until his arrest in the town of Teykovo in Ivanovo Region.
6.  On 6 April 2003 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of aggravated extortion. Two days later an investigator asked the Teykovo Town Court to remand him in custody. On the same day the Town Court adjourned consideration of the investigator's request for seventy-two hours. The applicant did not appeal.
7.  On 9 April 2003 the investigator ordered the applicant's release on a written undertaking not to leave the town, reasoning as follows:
“The present criminal case was opened on 6 April 2003, at 5 p.m. On the same day at 5.15 p.m. an investigator, Ms S., arrested [the applicant] in compliance with Article 91 of the Russian Code of Criminal Procedure. On 8 April 2003, at 3.15 p.m., the applicant was charged under Article 163 § 2 of the Russian Criminal Code and a decision on bringing a request to a court for authorisation of [the applicant's] detention was issued. That request was examined by the court and by virtue of Article 108 § 3 (7) of the Russian Code of Criminal Procedure [the court] adjourned the examination of the request until 2 p.m. on 11 April 2003. In his decision the judge did not mention that [the applicant's] detention had been extended.
Due to the fact that [the applicant's] detention has expired, he should be released.”
8.  On 11 April 2003 the Teykovo Town Court resumed consideration of the investigator's request of 8 April 2003 and authorised the applicant's placement in custody, finding that he had been charged with a serious criminal offence, had a criminal record, was a danger to society, was unemployed and did not have a permanent source of income. The court concluded that the applicant was liable to abscond and interfere with the course of justice.
9.  On the same day the applicant appealed against the decision of 11 April 2003, arguing that there were no grounds for his placement in custody. He had a permanent place of residence, had started working and had no intention of absconding.
10.  On 15 April 2003 the Ivanovo Regional Court upheld the decision of 11 April 2003, endorsing the Town Court's reasoning.
11.  A transcript of a telephone conversation produced by the Government reveals that on 5 June 2003 an investigator of the Teykovo town police department informed the applicant's lawyer, Mr Shkryuba, that a request for extension of the applicant's detention was to be sent to the Teykovo Town Court on the following day. The investigator asked for confirmation of the lawyer's availability for the court hearing. Mr Skhryuba replied that he would not be able to attend as he had to take part in a seminar starting on 9 June 2003.
12.  On 9 June 2003 the Teykovo Town Court extended the applicant's detention for twenty-six days, until 6 July 2003, finding that he had been charged with a serious criminal offence and had a previous conviction, also that he was unemployed and did not have a permanent source of income and thus, if released, he was liable to pervert the course of justice and abscond. The Town Court noted that by 6 July 2003 the total period of the applicant's detention would amount to two months and twenty-six days. The applicant's lawyer did not attend the hearing on 9 June 2003. The record of that hearing provided to the Court by the Government shows that the Town Court read in open court thirty-two pages of material presented to it by the investigator and attached to the case file. The materials comprised records of various investigative actions, including the previous decisions on the applicant's arrest and detention. A court registrar made an entry in the record stating that the parties had no objections or amendments.
13.  The applicant appealed. He complained that the decision of 9 June 2003 had been taken in the absence of his lawyer, who had not been summoned to the hearing, and that he had not been provided with copies of the case file materials attached to the investigator's application for the extension of the detention. A letter of 21 June 2003 from the President of the Ivanovo Town Bar Association was enclosed. The President informed the Regional Court that the applicant's lawyer, Mr Shkryuba, had not been summoned to the hearing of 9 June 2003 as the summons had arrived at the Bar Association only hours before the hearing, by which time Mr Shkryuba had departed on an official mission and therefore it had been impossible to notify him promptly of the hearing.
The applicant further argued that the maximum authorised two-month period of his detention had expired on 8 June 2003, taking into account that he had remained in custody during the three days after his arrest in April 2003. Thus, his detention from 8 to 9 June had had no legal basis.
14.  On 3 July 2003 the Ivanovo Regional Court held an appeal hearing. The applicant's lawyer attended. At the end of the hearing the Regional Court issued a decision upholding the extension order of 9 June 2003. The relevant part of the appeal decision read as follows:
“It follows from the case file materials that the criminal case requires a certain amount of investigative actions for which additional time is needed.
At the same time there are no grounds for change or cancellation of the measure of restraint which was applied to [the applicant]. [The applicant] is charged with a criminal offence which belongs to the category of serious [offences]; [he] has previous convictions [and has had] a suspended sentence; [he] does not have any source of income [and], if released, [he] could pervert the course of justice and abscond.
On the basis of the aforementioned, the court correctly concluded [that it was] possible to extend [the applicant's] detention.
It also follows from the case materials that in the course of the pre-trial investigation [the applicant] concluded an agreement with counsel, Mr R. Shkryuba, who had been duly notified about the examination of the present case, which is confirmed by the case file materials. [He] did not attend the hearing, his failure to attend being due to his participation in a seminar, in which Mr R. Shkryuba took part merely as a member of the audience, cannot be considered a valid reason.
According to a court record, [the applicant]'s rights prescribed by Article 47 of the Russian Code of Criminal Procedure were explained to him; he did not submit any requests.
In such circumstances the fact that the case was examined in the absence of counsel Mr R. Shkryuba cannot be considered a violation of [the applicant's] right to defence.”
15.  On 3 July 2003 the Teykovo Town Court authorised an extension of the applicant's detention for an additional twenty-nine days, that is until 4 August 2003. The Town Court found no grounds for changing the measure of restraint, holding that the applicant had been charged with several serious offences, he had no “official” place of employment, and had a previous conviction, having received a suspended sentence. The Town Court noted that all those facts attested to the “criminal orientation” of the applicant's personality and that if released he was liable to reoffend, pervert the course of justice and abscond. As regards the applicant's argument that his detention from 8 to 9 June 2003 had been unlawful, the Town Court held as follows:
“By virtue of Article 109 § 10 of the Russian Code of Criminal Procedure [the court] accepts the arguments by the defence that the three days of [the applicant's] detention in the capacity of a suspect (from 6 to 9 April 2003) should be included in the period of his detention. Thus, the aforementioned three days should be included in the total period of [the applicant's] detention.”
16.  On 15 July 2003 the Ivanovo Regional Court upheld the detention order of 3 July 2003, supporting the reasoning of the Town Court. The Regional Court, however, excluded the remarks about the applicant's personality from that detention order.
17.  It appears from the parties' submissions that after 4 August 2003 the applicant's detention was regularly extended in view of his alleged liability to abscond, pervert the course of justice and reoffend.
18.  On 31 October 2003 the Teykovo Town Court found the applicant guilty of several counts of aggravated robbery and sentenced him to four years' imprisonment. On 9 December 2003 the Regional Court upheld the conviction.
19.  From 14 April to 29 December 2003 the applicant was detained in temporary detention facility no. 1 in the town of Ivanovo (hereinafter “facility no. IZ-37/1” or “the detention facility”).
20.  The Government, relying on a certificate issued on 10 December 2007 by the director of facility no. IZ-37/1, submitted that during the period in question the applicant had been detained in three different cells. Cell no. 135, where he was detained on 14 and 15 April 2003, measured 30.8 square metres and housed three other detainees. From 15 April to 14 October 2003 the applicant was kept in cell no. 93, measuring 21.8 square metres and accommodating twenty-two detainees. From 14 October 2003 until his release the applicant was detained in cell no. 61. Seventeen other inmates shared 25.3 square metres of that cell with the applicant. The Government noted that the applicant, having been provided with a complete set of bedding, had an individual sleeping place at all times. However, as it follows from the above-mentioned certificate provided by the director, the number of inmates indicated by the facility for each cell in which the applicant had been detained was an average one.
21.  Citing the information provided by the director of the facility, the Government further submitted that the cells received natural light and ventilation through a large window 1.2 metres long and 0.9 metres wide. The cells had ventilation shafts and were equipped with lights which functioned day and night. Each cell was equipped with a lavatory pan, a sink and a tap for running water. The pan was separated from the living area by a partition one metre and eighty centimetres high. Inmates were allowed to take a shower once a week for forty minutes. Clean bedding was also provided once a week. The cells were disinfected. Inmates were afforded an hour of outdoor recreation per day in small yards equipped with wooden benches and covered by a shed roof against rain and snow. The Government, relying on the information provided by the director of the facility, further stated that the applicant was given food “in accordance with the established norms”. According to the Government, detainees including the applicant were provided with medical assistance. The Government furnished a copy of the applicant's medical record.
22.  The applicant did not contest the cell measurements. However, he insisted that the cells had been severely overcrowded and that he had had less than two square metres of living space. He stressed that cell no. 93, where he had spent the major part of his detention in facility no. IZ-37/1, had ten sleeping places and had usually housed twenty-eight to thirty-six inmates. Cell no. 61, equipped with twelve bunks, had also been overcrowded. Inmates had to take turns to sleep. They were not provided with bedding. The applicant further submitted that the sanitary conditions had been appalling. The cells were infested with insects but the management did not provide any insecticide. There was no artificial ventilation in the cells. It was impossible to take a shower, as a large number of inmates had to take a shower simultaneously during a very short period of time. Inmates had to wash and dry their laundry indoors, creating excessive humidity in the cells. The lavatory pan was separated from the living area by a small partition. At no time did inmates have complete privacy. No toiletries were provided. The food was of poor quality and in short supply. Everyday outdoor exercise usually lasted less than an hour. Recreation yards were no more than small boxes measuring ten square metres, separated from each other with concrete walls and covered with a metal net. The applicant further argued that medical assistance was unavailable.
23.  According to the applicant, in April 2003 a group of officers of a special-purpose squad arrived at the detention facility for the purpose of rendering practical assistance in maintaining the detention regime. Their method of assistance was as follows: they gave detainees ten seconds to leave a cell. Those who failed to comply were severely beaten up. The applicant alleged that he too had been beaten up. However, no serious injuries were caused.